SYDNEY • A Swedish man died and his friend was seriously injured yesterday after they rode a shopping trolley down a steep Sydney road, reportedly travelling at 80kmh.

The pair were walking home in the eastern suburb of Randwick shortly after midnight when they came across the discarded trolley, with one climbing in and the other standing on the back of it to coast down Coogee Bay Road towards a well-known Sydney beach.

Police said the trolley crashed into a car coming in the opposition direction. "The male who was in the shopping trolley was catapulted out, landing on a kerb... the other person landed after the collision in the middle of the road," Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate told reporters.

One man died at the scene and the other was taken to a Sydney hospital after being helped by the driver of the car and a passing cyclist. Police said both men were aged 28 and from Sweden, with one currently studying in Australia.

"The estimate is that the men were travelling at about 80kmh in the trolley, so they had certainly gathered some speed," Chief Inspector Chris Stiles told Fairfax Media. "It sounds like they might have had a bit of fun together, resulting in this terrible incident."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE